Red Line
by Naniris
Summary: Taggart was a source of much rage for Alex Mercer. More so than anyone else.


Title: Red Line

Taggart was a source of much rage for Alex Mercer. More so than anyone else.

**"WHEN WE HUNT, WE KILL. NO ONE IS SAFE; NOTHING IS SACRED. WE ARE BLACKWATCH! WE ARE THE LAST LINE OF DEFENSE! WE WILL BURN OUR OWN TO HOLD THE RED LINE, IT IS THE LAST LINE TO EVER HOLD."****-**1st Lt. James Goodwin; first unincorporated memory node in Zeus' neuron web; part of the gestalt of self, yet remaining a separate identity as a consumed target.

Dr. Alex Mercer was many things. A "rageo' holic" was not one of them. He was an angry man, focused and petty, defined by his disregard for all life outside his own. But he did not rage, he seethed with contempt and punished without remorse or caring. Fury was an emotion too strong for him to feel.

The scientist was a churning fire that burned low, yet constant.

Blackwatch was an accelerant that honed it to a deadly degree.

Before Zeus unconsciously took its first strides towards humanity; before it pieced together a morality that would plague it as it enriched its existence; Zeus would learn of the Red Line and the cult-like discipline that demanded blood to spill for goals to be reached.

Manhattan had little hope those first days, not until the marines arrived to temper down homicidal tendencies, of civilians providing a glimpse at non-violent lives. Heroes and victims, slain at the altar of madness in order to dilute hatred.

It was confusing; contradictions that supported each other, agreements that soured in correlation, doublethink and cognitive dissonance that mired in technicalities. Maddening certainty without the clarity of context.

It made Zeus gullible since it wanted a clear path to follow, the simplicity of trust to rely on. Since Blacklight was betrayed time and again, it relied on internal segregation to hold onto its sense of self as it could not define itself by personal relationships.

The web of memories was separate from its core being. It could be analyzed and encapsulated as individuals. Unlike Mercer's memories that was rampant and diffuse, as incorporeal as air, ever present yet impossible to hold on to. Zeus could not shut the voices out, yet he could ignore them as nothing more than the murmurs of a crowd at best; as a screaming mob, panicky with fear and loathing, at worst.

There was still psychic leakage and Blackwatch operatives had tainted the mental pond far more than anything else.

So when Taggart tried to escape Manhattan, to cross that Red Line, to betray those that held on to the creed as death ripped them apart, Zeus sunk into that rage.

The memories of Marines engendered disgust and righteous anger, civilians brought up a sense of disbelieving betrayal and loss, but those Blackwatch voices. It wasn't so much that Taggart would let Manhattan burn in atomic hellfire. It was that he would break the Last Line of Defense in order to escape it.

If it was their job to stand in a closed warehouse, knowingly aware that Zeus is disguised as one of them, to risk their lives to try out the Bloodtox to see first hand how effective it could be, then damn them all, they would do it without flinching.

If it was Taggart's job to be a diversion, to occupy Zeus as a final solution played itself out, then he had to do it. Because when Blackwatch burns its own, it demands that every single member expect to be burned if needed, to hold the Line to the last.

As Zeus roared over the rumbling of tanks and deafening explosions, it was partly the guilt of killing unwitting soldiers, but most of it was 1st Lt. James Goodwin screaming from the center of a teeming mass, his blood oath emblazoned on the last remnants of his memories.

A/N:

Hey, it's been awhile since I wrote anything. Here's a short piece I've been thinking about for some time now. The way Alex was screaming "NOTHING WILL PROTECT YOU FROM ME! NOT MEN! NOT WEAPONS! NOT ARMOR!" reminded me of the quote at the beginning. So what the heck, let's speculate like crazy.

Also, I've found about tvtropes dot org. Their Prototype page is informative and funny. If you like reading an analysis, deconstruction, whatever-you-want-to-call-it about Alex Mercer, then head over there. (Http:/) tvtropes (.) org/pmwiki/pmwiki (.) php/Main/Prototype

I had a nice surprise when I saw I was recommended on the fanfic page. So go me.


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